Autumn In Your Eyes
by vexus01
Summary: The traditions of autumn seen through the eyes of Danny and Lindsay dl
1. A Leaf Changing Experience

This is going to be a series of short stories about the experiences of autumn seen though the eyes of Danny and Lindsay

Thank you _**SallyJetson**_ for being a Beta and for _**Audacity**_ for the support!

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters, CBS does.

Descriptions: Some traditions are best shared with others, D/L

Ratings: K

Part 1: A Leaf Changing Experience

"Danny, how did you come up with this? Lindsay said, questioning the bizarre behavior of her boyfriend.

She knew that Danny had something up his sleeve when he had requested that her work schedule be cleared for a couple of days. She tried to ask Mac what it was about, but he had been tight-lipped. Knowing she was defeated, she had given up.

When she had arrived home from work, she had found an envelope taped to her apartment door. Before she opened the door, she had read the note:

_Montana,_

_I know that you're not a big supporter of surprises, but this one you'll love. I know that you have seen the mountains of Montana, but I want to show you what upstate New York is all about. _

_Love,_

_Danny_

"I have my sources." Danny said, as both of them loaded their bags into his SUV. "Do you like my plan?"

Lindsay smiled at her boyfriend. "I have to admit that this is a good idea. How you convinced Mac to let me off for a couple of days is beyond me. How did you do it?"

"I just told him that if he didn't let you off he would have two CSI's that would work half-hazardly. It really didn't take much to convince him."

She stepped closer to her Danny and snuggled close to him. He encased his arms around her small frame and took in the fragrant scent of her shampoo. He pulled away and looked into her liquid brown eyes. "Do you want to know where we are going?"

Lindsay nodded, her wavy hair blowing in the breeze. "The suspense is killing me Danny so go ahead and spit it out."

"How do the Adirondack Mountains sound to you? We can rent a little cabin near Lake Placid and just get away from the hustle and bustle of the city. Are you up for it?"

The drive up to the cabin was beautiful. There was very little conversation because both of them were looking at the surroundings. Lindsay was doing most of the sightseeing. She sat in awe as she looked at the beautiful contrast of the mountains. The red, brown and the golden yellow of the changing leaves were a wonderful reminder of autumn in Montana. It was breathtaking.

Some time later, they arrived at the cabin rental office. Danny ran in to sign the lease and grab the keys to the cabin. Lindsay looked around and couldn't believe that she was sitting here in the Adirondacks. She remembered as a child her Grandfather Albert telling her about these mountains and that the Mohican and Algonquian had lived here. As a little girl, she had thought of this place as magical, an escape from reality.

Her thoughts were silenced as she saw Danny leave the rental office with a big grin on his face. He hopped in the SUV and just sat there. He looked over at her and grinned again. "What!" Lindsay said, almost shouting at him.

"Give props to me baby, I'm good!"

"Danny what have you done!"

"Not only are we getting a cabin, but a renter cancelled and the agent just upgraded us to a cabin for the same cost and get this: it's right next to the lake. We have our own dock!"

"Danny, was the agent a man or a woman?"

Danny started to stammer. "The agent said that the …." But he couldn't get past the playful glare from his girlfriend. "Okay, okay it was a woman! I'll admit I used the Messer charm to get a better upgrade. But I did it all for you sweetheart." he said looking at her, grabbing her hands and kissing the fingertips. "But can you forgive me?" He tried to be serious but the playful glint in his eyes gave it away.

"Danny, it's hard to be mad at you! Now come on cowboy hit the road!"

It took less than 10 minutes to find the cabin. All kidding aside, the upgrade to this cabin was worth it. It was a split level cabin that sat 20 feet from the lake. The cabin had a wrap-around porch that led to the back and from the side view she could see the boat dock that led to the lake. It was breathtaking and this view could only be recreated by a skillful artist.

Before Danny could say anything, Lindsay unlatched her seatbelt. She quickly opened the SUV door and ran up the three steps that led to the porch. She placed her hands on the pine railing and took a deep breath. The familiar smell of mountain air filled her lungs. She was so enthralled in the moment; she didn't hear the familiar steps of Danny sneaking up behind her.

She jumped a bit but quickly relaxed when she felt his arms enclose around her. "Isn't this beautiful, Danny?"

"That's why I picked this spot. I know sometimes that you miss the skies of Montana and I felt that you had to have a little bit of a reminder," Danny said softly.

"Thank you," Lindsay said. "We should get the stuff out of the car. We'll also need to get some food. I think there was a little market down the road."

Danny unlocked the cabin door and both of them took the suitcases in. "Lindsay, I'm going to get some supplies for the cabin. This is your time so if you want to relax you can or you can unpack some. It's up to you, baby."

While Danny was gone, Lindsay took advantage of the latter choice. She unpacked her suitcase, put her clothes in the drawer and chuckled when she got started unloading his suitcase. He had packed his skin tight green shirt. That shirt caused trouble because there had been many days in the lab when he wore it and that had triggered her wanting him, especially in the shower and any available spot. And look right here, he packed it!

Lindsay had put away the last article of clothing when she heard Danny come in through the front door. She headed towards the kitchen and expected to see one or two bags from the market. What she didn't expect was to see five bags of groceries.

"Danny!" Lindsay exclaimed, putting her hands on her hips. All she could do is stare at him and shake her head.

"What?" Danny said, innocently. He placed all the bags on the kitchen table and proceeded to unload them.

"We're only going to be here for a couple of days. How do you expect us to eat all of this?"

" Linds, you know how hungry I get. I'm a growing boy."

After the delicious dinner of baked chicken and vegetables that Danny fixed, they headed to the stairs with wine glasses in hand. Watching their step, they headed down to the dock that led to the lake. It was too cold to take off their shoes, but it was comfortable enough to stand on the dock and watch the sun set in the distance.

"Are you warm?" Danny said to Lindsay. "I'm fine." Lindsay said. Danny put his free arm around her waist and pulled her closer.

He couldn't imagine spending this time with any other woman except Lindsay. All the other women, who he had dated, had not been worthy of this. But Lindsay was different.

"Linds, I have to tell you a dream that I had when I was a little boy. I used to dream that I was a grown man and that I was on a dock with a woman. At the time I couldn't tell who she was. But I realized today, you are the woman on that dock with me. You are my perfect woman."

Both of them knew at that very moment that it was not fate that brought them together. It was the youthful dreams of a boy who never gave up his wish for a wonderful life.


	2. Daylight Savings Delights and Disasters

Part 2: Daylight Savings Delights and Disasters

Lindsay sighed as she looked at the memo that was posted next to the time clock. It was a reminder for the department to set their clocks back one hour. It had never been a problem for Lindsay as she was a person that could accept change.

"It's time to change the clock again." a voice behind Lindsay spoke out. She turned and saw Stella and Danny approaching her.

"I never have any problems adjusting to the time change." Lindsay said, smiling at the two.

"It's because you grew up on a farm, Montana." Danny said, his thick accent punctuating the air.

"That's not the reason. I just adjust to change well."

"You guys are young. I have a hard time with it." Stella said.

"Stella, you're not that old." Danny said. But he regretted speaking as Stella gave him a glance.

"I'll forget you said that Danny." Stella said with a gleam in her eyes. "Listen guys I'll see you bright and early tomorrow. Don't forget to set the clock back or you have to hear about it from Mac."

As Stella walked away, she couldn't help but smile as she heard the playful banter of Danny and Lindsay. She was extremely happy that Danny finally found someone that he could love. She just wished she was as lucky as he was.

"Your place or mine?" Danny said as he led her to the elevator. As a group of people exited the elevator, he held the door open so she could enter before him.

"Your place." Lindsay said as she pulled her coat closer to her. "Danny, you won't have a problem getting up in the morning?"

No, pulling these early shifts breaks a man in so I won't have any problem getting up in time."

The next morning, Lindsay expected to see darkness as she woke. But what she saw was light and it came in the form of sunshine streaming through the window. She looked over at Danny who was on his stomach.

"Danny! Danny! Wake up!!" Lindsay shouted as she tried to wake him up from his deep slumber.

"Linds, one more hour." Danny said, mumbling incoherent words as he turned to the other side of the bed.

"No way Messer!" Lindsay said as she hopped out of bed and pulled back the covers. Danny, who realized that he was cold from being uncovered, attempted to retrieve the covers but was met with the glare of his girlfriend.

"Now why did ya do that?" Danny said, his accent thick in the morning.

"Look at the clock Danny!" Lindsay said as she pointed to the clock.

Danny focused on the digital clock next to his bed. His eyes were still out of focus so he reached for his glasses next to the bed. He soon realized that the clock said 9:00 and they were two hours late.

"Danny we have got to go." Lindsay said but was cut off by Danny's lips. "Oh what the Hell," she said as she relinquished her control.

Mac was in his office waiting for the phone call that would explain why both Danny and Lindsay were now four hours late.

He was about to pick up the phone when Stella came into his office. "Danny and Lindsay are late."

Stella's eyebrows perked up as she listened to what Mac said. "Oh really?"

"Do you know why they would be late?" Mac said.

Stella shrugged her shoulders. "I have no idea." She turned and left the room, smiling excitedly. He's clueless, she thought as she went back to her office.


	3. What's Beyond The Sky

I want to thank **SallyJetson** for the Beta of this fiction and for **Audacity** for the encouragement.

Part 3- What's Beyond the Sky

All she wanted to do was sleep and that's what she intended to do. She had gathered her clothes from her locker and slammed it shut. But what she didn't expect was to see Danny on the other side.

"Danny, you scared me!" Lindsay exclaimed, almost dropping her clothes. Danny, being the gentleman that he was, took her clothes and helped her put them into her bag. "I'm sorry, Montana. I just have to ask you to do something with me."

Her eyes sparkled in the light of the locker room and all Danny thought was that she was going to say _yes_. Please say yes, he thought.

"Are we going to work on the Bat mobile again?"

"As much as we had fun with the Bat mobile, it's actually about something else. Are you up for anything?"

"Danny, I ate bugs with you. There is nothing that you can put in front of me that I can't handle. What do you have in mind?"

* * *

"Is this what you had in mind?" Lindsay said as Danny led her to a spot in the middle of Central Park. The spot that he picked was perfect. It had a scenic view of the sky but Lindsay still didn't know why he had picked this particular spot.

"Oh yeah," Danny said, spreading the blanket that he had on the grass. Lindsay, puzzled looked at her boyfriend. She loved a romp in the park as much as anybody else but with people strolling by, it could be a little uncomfortable.

"What are you doing?" Lindsay said. She sat down on the blanket as Danny sat down beside her.

Danny reached over and scooted Lindsay closer to him. He wrapped his arms around her small body. "I'm going to show you something. I know that in Montana you lived on a farm and had plenty of chances to study the sky above. And you probably looked at the stars. I just want to show you the view of the constellations from Central Park."

"Thank you", Lindsay said, whispering close to his ear. "I was never any good at finding the constellations. I'm sure you won't mind showing me?"

They both relaxed back on the blanket and gazed at the stars. As a scientist, Lindsay knew the general gist of astronomy but not as much as Danny. She looked up and saw a series of stars that intersected in the form of a "y". She tried to remember which constellation it was but Danny noticed that she was focused on a particular portion of the sky.

"Cancer." Danny said, pointing to the stars. Lindsay followed with her eyes in the direction that he was pointing. "See how it's formed. I always thought it would be more "crab-like" but it's not."

Lindsay leaned up and faced Danny. "How did you learn so much about the stars?"

"Well, when I was little, my parents used to send me to my neighbors' apartment when they went out. Both of my neighbors, Edna and Charles were avid constellation watchers. They would spend hours teaching me the different shapes of the constellations. It is something that I never forgot."

"I wish I could have met your neighbors Danny. That way that I could tell them that they taught a young boy is that the key to a woman's heart is beyond the sky."


	4. Cider In  Your Heart

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters, CBS does.

Rating: K

Pairings: D/L

Description: She's cold; he wants to warm her up.

Special thanks to **SallyJetson** for the Beta!!

Of all the nights she had to get to sleep, this was the night that she was wide awake. She tossed and turned, she put her hands over her head to drown out the noise but nothing worked. Careful not to wake her slumbering boyfriend, she pulled back the covers and grabbed her robe that was draped over the chair against the wall.

She went out to the back porch and sat down on the stairs. When she couldn't sleep, she came out here. The cool breeze, the starry night and drone of the last remaining summer insects always put her to sleep. But as she sat down and listened, she realized that she wasn't getting sleepy.

The longer she sat outside the more that she thought of her childhood home in Montana. She remembered when she was younger and she hadn't been able to sleep her mother would take her outside and both of them would wrap up in a blanket and share a cup of cider. She remembered the talks and during these talks, she remembered that was the first time the topic of boys was brought up.

* * *

Danny woke up to find that Lindsay's side of the bed was slightly warm. Her absence meant that she couldn't sleep. He got up and looked out the window to see her still on the back porch steps, staring out at the stars. He grabbed a shirt and went to the kitchen to fix her something special to drink.

* * *

She heard the door creak open and saw Danny. He had two mugs in his hand and from the aromatic aroma; she could tell that it was apple cider. She smiled as Danny handed her a mug.

"Thanks." Lindsay said, giving Danny a peck on the cheek. She blew some of the steam away and took her first sip. What she noticed was the slight kick of the rum that Danny added.

"What a kick!" Lindsay said "I need that tonight. Danny, do you know why I sit out here and why I ask for cider?"

Danny took a sip of his own cider and looked over at her. "Is it because of your mom?"

"Yes, "Lindsay said." It was a tradition that mom did with me. We drank cider and looked at the stars. We did this when I couldn't sleep. That's why I always ask for cider. But it's different tonight, Danny. It's been a year since she passed away."

There was nothing more that Danny could say. He just scooted close to Lindsay and held her. He held her close to his heart until she drifted away to sleep.


End file.
